Under My Skin
by jbrossk
Summary: Set after FIRE and RISE. What has happened to the gang? The chapters are written like the series with character centered episodes. Just read it...
1. Prologue

Emily stared at Naomi as she slept. She hated seeing her all covered up in in tubes and wires and on that fucking hospital bed.

"You've got to stop doing that." Naomi mumbled while her eyes were still closed.

"Doing what?" Emily asked quietly.

"Looking at me like that." Naomi said.

"Like what? And how do you know? Your eyes are fucking closed!

Naomi opened her eyes with a knowing look. "Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity,"

Emily was about to open her mouth to protest, "I need you to hold me." She said, her voice scratchy and barely audible.

Emily immediately took off her shoes and crawled into the bed with Naomi like the first night she came into the hospital. She had been there for 12 days. She snuggled on Naomi's chest breathing in her scent.

"Ems?" Naomi spoke quietly and half asleep.

"Yeah?" Emily looked at Naomi's face.

"I love you."

"I know." She half smiled and fell asleep.

She was woken up by a blaring alarm. _Naomi._ _No. no. No! Stay with me!_ She thought as she was being pulled out of the bed by a nurse and guided out the room. "Sorry, Love. You can't be in there." She said coldly and returned to the room. Emily stood motionless and stared as the doctors were trying to bring Naomi Campbell back to life.


	2. Effy

18 months. Five hundred and forty-seven days. Thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-nine hours. That is how long Effy Stonem had been in prison.

"Stonem! Pack up your stuff. You're gettin' outa here!" The prison guard yelled at her. She did as she was told and gathered her few belongings in her cell when she felt a presence behind her.

"Heard you're leaving, bitch." One of the prisoners, Jones, said in a menacing tone. Next to her was another fierce looking inmate, Nilsen.

"Yeah. What of it?" Effy turned away and continued gathering her belonging which were mostly letters and pictures.

"We're here to give you a proper send off. It's tradition." Nilsen said in a gruff voice.

"We'll that's awfully nice of you ladies, but really I should get going." Effy took her stuff and tried leaving the cell but was stopped by Jones' rough hands on her shoulders. Effy tried to push them away but it was no use, Jones was stronger and grabbed her and turned her around to face Nilsen who gave Effy a jab right on her ribs. Effy yelped and struggled to loosen Jones' grip. Another right hook to the face. Effy groaned and spit out blood. After a few punches Effy stopped trying to fight back and instead focused on trying to stay conscious.

"C'mon, Nilsen she's good. We don't wanna kill the fucking kid." Jones loosened her grip and let Effy fall to the floor and the two left.

"Get out of here, kid." Nilsen said while looking at Effy who was still curled up in the fetal position, struggling to breathe. Eventually, Effy got up and went to her Correctional Officer to be released. He took one look at her and didn't even bat and eye.

"You ladies and your traditions…" He shook his head. "Any was, Elizabeth congratulations on being released!"

"Thanks." Effy said quietly.

"Well, as of right now you are no longer an inmate of Her Majesty's Penitentiary for Women. Here are the clothes you came in with." He handed her a plastic bag and escorted her to the bathroom. She took a look in the mirror. Her left cheek was swollen and her lip was spilt there was a wound above her right brow which dripped blood down to her jaw. She lifted up her shirt and saw the angry red and purple marks that covered the entirety of the left side of her torso and winced when she pressed her fingertips to it. Her tight fitting clothes felt alien to her skin after a year and half of loose fitting grey jumpsuits. The feeling of the tight denim and soft cashmere made her sigh contently. She exited the bathroom and followed the officer to the front door. He opened it and gestured for her to exit. She took a hesitant step out.

"You're free, Miss Stonem." Her officer said. She smiled and walked out. She took a few steps more towards the street with the intention of calling a Taxi.

"You fucking cunt." She heard a familiar voice. Naomi's voice. She turned to see Naomi standing in front of Emily's red car. Emily was next to her, holding her hand and smiling. "How dare you get your arse thrown in jail when I'm dying? How fucking selfish could you be?" Naomi continued to tease. Effy was speechless. She rushed to them and threw her arms around her best friend and Naomi reciprocated by wrapping her arms around her. Effy hissed at the pain.

"What?" Naomi was confused and pulled back.

"I got a little goodbye present." Effy smiled wryly and lifted up her shirt so Emily and Naomi could see the bruising on her ribs.

"Shit." Naomi said looking at the bruises.

"You probably deserved it." Emily said sarcastically and hugged Effy, carefully.

"Still being a bitch to me, eh? Even though your girlfriend survived? But yeah I probably did." Effy laughed.

Effy looked at Naomi. She looked good. _Healthy._ Her hair had grown back it wasn't at full length yet but it came down to her shoulders like it did when they were 18 except now she preferred her natural light brown instead of bleach blonde. She caught Effy staring at her in disbelief and smiled.

"Oi, stop looking at me like that! I'm taken, you know?" Naomi joked and wrapped her arm around Emily who looked at her lovingly.

"Sorry Naoms… It's just… You look really good."

"Yeah? Well, 6 month of remission tends to work wonders for people." Naomi said.

"Well, what else have I missed?" Effy asked.

"Oh. Nothing much." Naomi lifted her left hand and on it was a beautiful silver engagement ring.

"No fucking way!" Effy gasped in disbelief. Emily nodded and lifted up her hand which also had a matching ring. "Ah! Congratulations you two! Why didn't you tell me? You could have written letters or told me when you visited."

"I wanted to tell my maid of honor in person once she was liberated." Naomi smirked.

"Me? Your maid of honor?" Effy smiled back.

"Yeah, you twat. Now c'mon let's get you home. It's cold as balls out here."

"Yeah." Effy said quietly and got in the car. It was odd being in a car. She hadn't been in one for so long. She had been in this car dozens of times but she never noticed how it smelled like leather and Emily's perfume. It was rather comforting.

"You alright back there? You're being awfully quiet." Emily asked one hand on the steering wheel another holding Naomi's. It was subtle but the entire dynamic between those two had completely changed the way they would look at each other was like that was the last moment they would look at each other. It made Effy think about Freddie.

"Yeah. I'm good." Effy responded to Emily.

She wasn't though. It had been ages since Effy thought about Freddie but in prison a lot you can really do is think. She knew that her last words to him had been 'I love you' but she had been so out of it, so caught up in her own torments that she never got to cherish the last days with Freddie.

"Alright. We're here." Emily parked her car in front of their old flat. Effie's new, more luxurious one had been reclaimed while she was in jail. Effy went straight to her old room. It was full of cardboard boxes full of her stuff. Emily and Naomi must have gathered them and brought them. She opened one it was full of boots, trainers, and leather stilettos. She picked up her favorite pair. Black Louis Vuitton's with red bottoms that Jake had bought for her. She tossed them aside and grunted disgustedly.

"Hey, be nice to those. They're pretty." Naomi said softly. Effy didn't say anything she just sat on the bed and looked at the wall. Naomi sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's gonna be ok, you know. You just have to get used to being back. That's all."

"Yeah." Effy mumbled. But she knew that wasn't true. Something inside her had changed she didn't know where she belonged or what she was going to do. She was completely lost.

"Alright well, I'll give you some privacy." Naomi stood up from the bed and headed towards the door.

"Naomi, wait." Effy called out and went to her and put her arms around her. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Yeah, well, you can't get rid of me that easy. Can you?" Naomi smiled and Effy shook her head.

After a sleepless night, Effy decided to go for a jog in the morning. She knew Emily and Naomi would still be asleep so she tried no to make any noise as she left the house. It felt nice to have the chilly breeze hit her face. She jogged to a green park full of trees and swings and kids playing. She walked up to a swing set and sat on one and slowly began to rock herself back and forth.

Next to her was the swing set designed for toddlers and a man was putting in her daughter.

"In you go princess!" He said in a loving tone while the girl gave exited cheers. The man turned to look at Effy and she gasped.

"Cook?" Effy was in awe.

"Effy." He replied in equal shock.


	3. Cook

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! Keep them coming! This chapter is Cook. Flashbacks are in Italics. Next chapter is going to be Naomi.**

 _"In you go, princess!" He said in a loving tone while the girl gave exited cheers. The man turned to look at Effy and she gasped._

 _"Cook?" Effy was in awe._

 _"Effy." He replied in equal shock._

"What are you doing in Bristol?" She said quietly. "Thought you were a fugitive after… _you know_." Effy couldn't bring herself to say it after so many years.

"My Uncle Keith died. I'm looking after his pub." Cook replied.

"Sorry. How'd he go?" Effy asked quietly.

"Syphilis? Alcohol? High cholesterol? Who the fuck knows?" Cook shrugged. The man was a pig and everyone knew it.

Effy was extremely uncomfortable and turned to the little girl on the swing. "And who is this?"

"Effy. This is my daughter, Sophie."

"D-daughter?" Effy stuttered, "How?"

 _It was 3 in the afternoon and Cook had just gotten out of bed he was naked. He reached for the pair of boxer on the floor and gave them a sniff. Not bad. He put them on and he went downstairs and grabbed a stale piece of bread and sat on the table. He pulled out a maxed out credit card and started shaping his line of coke._

 _"Ah. Breakfast." He said contently as he rolled a five pound bill. The door knocked as he leaned forward and was about to snort. He groaned, "For fuck's sake! Who the fuck-?" He opened the door and there was a blonde shabby looking girl. She was attractive enough, Cook thought. She had slightly sunken cheekbones and bulging eyes. Heroin addict._

 _"Look, I don't sell anymore…"_

 _"No. My name is Michelle. We shagged? About a year ago…"_

 _"I don't remember who I shagged last night but if you've come back for more of The Cookie all you have to do is ask." He grinned._

 _"Fuck no." The girl, Michelle, turned away and grabbed something from the hall. It was a stroller. With a baby._

 _"The fuck is that?" He pointed at it._

 _"Your daughter, Sophie."_

 _"My- WHAT? No. No fucking way. You need to leave! Now." Cook was losing it. The baby started crying in her crib._

 _Michelle groaned, "Shut up, you stupid baby! Shah!" Michelle covered her ears and sank to the floor until she reached a fetal position._

 _"Hey!" Cook snapped at her, "She's just a baby."_

 _Michelle was unresponsive. Cook had had enough and he rushed over to the crib and for the first time looked down at his daughter. She looked healthy despite her mother's condition. She had tufts of blond hair and gray eyes. Her face was red from the crying. Cook felt compelled to grab her and he did. He was unsure of what to do but he cradled her against his chest she started selling and the crying stopped. Cook looked down at her and smiled, happy that she had stopped crying._

 _"That's a good girl." He cooed. "See, Michelle? It's not so bad." Cook looked down to where Michelle was laying but she was gone._

 _"Michelle?" She was gone. "Shit! Michelle! Where the fuck are you?" He looked out of his loft into the corridor but she was completely gone. And he couldn't chase after her because he was still holding the baby._

 _"Fuck!" He cussed in hushed tone not wanting to upset the baby. He went to sit down on the table and noticed that his back of coke and stack of cash were gone._

 _"What are we gonna do, huh?" He talked to the baby that was in his arms she just looked up at him and smiled._

"Oh." Was all Effy could say after Cook told her what had happened.

"So… Yeah... Sophie has been with me for nearly a year."

Effy remained quiet and just stared at the girl. She was a lovely child with blonde ringlets, steel gray eyes, and chubby arms.

"She's beautiful." Effy whispered.

"Yeah… She is." Cook looked at his daughter, completely mesmerized. "It's nearly twelve," Cook looked down at his watch, "I've got to go."

"Go where?" Effy asked.

"My uncle's pub. I'm fixing it up. Wanna come? I could use and extra pair of hands." Cook offered.

"Sure." Effy said and followed Cook to his car. They got to the old pub and walked in. The place definitely needed renewing.

"So what are we doing?" Effy asked.

"Today, you and little Miss Sophie are going to help me paint this old shack!" He said enthusiastically for Sophie.

"Cool." Effy said as Cook handed her a paint bucket and a roller. They stated working on the back wall. She couldn't help but look at Cook. He had changed. He was more muscular and his hair was evenly cut a styled. Even, his clothes had changed to a more mature, polished look. But it was so much more than that it was the way he acted, the way he talked, the way that every few minutes he would glance back to check if Sophie was still asleep. Effy decided she liked this new Cook.

Cook didn't say anything but he had caught Effy looking over at him a few times. The thought made him smile. He didn't know what it was about that girl but when he saw her again it was like all those years had never gone by, like they were still in college and he was still in love with her.

"Oops." Effy laughed and pointed at some of the paint her roller had dripped on Cook's sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"Nah. Don't worry about it." He shrugged and she turned to face the wall again. Suddenly she felt Cook's roller press up against her entire arm. She turned to look at him.

"Oops." He shrugged and smiled devilishly.

"You dickhead!" She joked and retaliated by using her finger to draw a line of paint on Cook's cheek.

"Oh you are so paying for that!" Cook grabbed a brush and got Effy's nose. Soon they were a tangled, painted mess. Cook stopped when they were face. She was looking at him with her beautiful electric blue eyes and he was staring right back. Something was compelling her to kiss her and something told him that she would kiss back. Right as he leaned in Sophie started stirring and whelping. He pulled away from Effy and rushed to her.

"It's time for her feeding." He said.

"Right. Yeah. I should leave." Effy said still motionless.

Cook nodded understandingly. "Ring me if you need more help with this place, yeah?" She said quietly.

"Yeah." Cook said softly and Effy smiled at him and left.

"Sophie, I think I'm still in love with that girl." He confided in his daughter.


	4. Naomi

Naomi looked at the silicone bra insert in her hand. The thing was positively disgusting. She was shirtless and she looked at the full-size mirror in her and Emily's room. She looked at her chest one of her breasts looked perfectly normal, just as it always had. But the other was now gone half of her chest was completely flat and with an angry red scar running across it thanks to her mastectomy. The silicone insert was meant to be stuffed inside her bra in order to make her chest look "normal".

Emily was in the bathroom and Naomi contained to be horrified by her chest. She heard Emily twisting the handle on their door.

"WAIT!" Naomi panicked. "Don't come in! I'm changing!" She quickly put on her bra and a V-neck. "Come in."

"Naomi this is ridiculous! I'm your fiancée, for god's sake! I should be able to see you naked!" For the past six months since Naomi had her mastectomy she had insisted of shagging with a bra on and then sleeping with her shirt on which she had never done before in her life.

"No." Naomi whispered. "I mean… I don't want you to. I mean… look, I've got to go. I have a show in half an hour.

"No! Naomi I want to talk about this!" Emily protested.

"I'm sorry. I can't." Naomi kissed Emily's cheek and left to go to her gig at Cook's newly reopened pub.

The crown was going wild for Naomi. She loved the stage and the energy.

"So the other day I was talking to a feminist and she asked me how I view lesbian relationships." She paused briefly, "Apparently HD was the wrong answer. " The crowd busted out in laughter again.

"Well, that is all have folks. Have a good night!" Naomi started doing her closing remarks.

"ENCORE!" someone shouted from the audience. "Encore! Encore," they chanted.

Naomi looked at Cook to see if he would allow it. He gave a nod and smiled.

"Alright, alright." The chanting stopped. "Ok, uh so today I got in to a little bit of a fight with my fiancé…"

"Yeah, you see about 3 months ago I got a mastectomy. Yeah, they chopped off my right tit. It's all gone. But anyways, this the soon-to-be-Mrs. Walks into our room and demands for me to show her my chest. I can't blame her though, to me it seems like she's only after ONE thing."

Again, her raunchy, offensive and totally inappropriate jokes are met with a cheering crowd. Naomi looked at the crowd and Emily was standing there with her mouth half open and her eyes watery, her face was twisted with fury. She had only come a minute ago because Naomi had scanned the crowd several times during the show and she had seen Cook and Effy sitting together in one table next to JJ and Lara. Naomi left the stage to go to her but Emily had already left for the door. Naomi tried chasing after her but was stopped by a man.

"You were brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant." The man beamed.

"Well, thank you. But really I've got to go." Naomi pointed to the door.

"Right. Then I'll be quick. My name is Peter Danville. I would like to offer you a position on my radio station, 106 FX, as a morning talk show host."

Naomi was taken aback, "wow, that sounds absolutely incredible!"

"Great! Here's my card." He handed her a business card. "Swing by on Monday and we can talk some more."  
"Thank you, Mr. Danville! I will, but I've got to go!"

"Right! Yes! I'll see you soon!" Peter called after her.

She was about to leave when a muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders.  
"I didn't know you and Emilio Lestevez were gunna get hitched. How did that happen? Was it only because you thought you were going to die?" Cook questioned with a beaming smile he wasn't drunk, but he was definitely buzzed.

"Not now, Cook." She said in an annoyed tone. "I've got to go."

"What'd I say?" Cook called out confused but Naomi was already out hailing a cab.  
Cook's question rung in her mind. How did it happen, indeed?

 _Naomi heart raced as she walked down the corridor. She would have been having a panic attack if it weren't for Emily's hand that had been grasping her own. They reached her doctor's the office._

 _"Naomi and Emily. Please, have a seat." He gestured toward the seats in front of his desk. They did.  
"Naomi I have the results from your last scan and it appears that you still have a tumor or your right breast." He said solemnly._

 _"What?" Emily breathed out. "But the chemo... The radiation ..."_

 _"It didn't work as we had planned, "the doctor said looking down at the file._

 _"So what do we do?" Naomi breathed out._

 _"We'll have to remove the entire breast."_

 _"When?" Emily asked._

 _"It will have to be soon. A week at most."_

 _"Okay. Do it." Naomi said quickly. The doctor nodded._

 _The two got to their apartment and Emily went upstairs Naomi rushed after her._

 _"_ _Ems." She went into their room and found Emily sobbing and pulling out a giant suitcase from out of her closet. She tossed it angrily on her bed and started shoving piles of her and Naomi's clothes in it._

 _"_ _What the hell are you doing?" Naomi screamed at her._

 _"_ _Let's get out of here, okay?" Emily said. "Just for a week. Just one week."_

 _Naomi didn't know what to say. Emily was upset. Hell! She was too! They both thought this was going to be the last time they would hear about cancer._

 _"_ _Okay." Naomi raised her hands. "Let's do it." They hailed a cab and drove straight to the airport._

 _"_ _Where shall we go? Rome? Istanbul? Madrid, perhaps?" Naomi looked at Emily._

 _"_ _Let's go to Mexico." Emily smiled. "Remember when we wanted to go to Mexico?_

 _"_ _How could I forget? You looked so cute with that mustache."_

 _"_ _Let's do it!" Emily pulled Naomi to the terminal._

 _They had flown all night from Bristol to Cancun and when they got to the hotel they fell right asleep. Naomi woke up the next morning to find that Emily was gone but there was a not with her handwriting that read 'Good morning! Eat up then join me at the breach. Love, Emily' Next to their bed was a room service tray with blueberry pancakes, her favorites and a glass of orange juice. She ate quickly then went to the beach. She saw Emily sitting in the white sand looking out to the sea. Her dark brown hair, that once used to be red, was flowing in the wind. She was so beautiful._

 _Naomi took a seat next to her. "Good morning," she whispered._

 _"_ _I love you." Emily said. "I love you more than life itself."_

 _"_ _Me too." Naomi whispered._

 _"_ _There's something I never told you before…"_

 _"_ _Yeah?" Naomi asked._

 _"_ _That day at the hospital, you know, the day- the day you-" Emily started choking up_

 _"_ _Died?" Naomi finished and Emily nodded._

 _"_ _That day I thought I was going to lose you and one of my biggest regrets in life is that I never got to ask you a question."_

 _"_ _What question?" Naomi whispered._

 _Emily reached into the pocket of her sun dress and took out a black box. "I thought that I would never get to ask you this…" She knelt besides Naomi and opened the box. There was a beautiful silver ring in there. "Will you marry me, Naomi Campbell? Naomi smiled widely. Almost mischievously._

 _"_ _Only if you answer one question for me." She said. Emily looked confused. Naomi reached for her back pocket and took out a silver ring without a box._

 _"_ _Will you marry me?" Naomi looked at Emily who wat trying so hard to cry._

 _"_ _Yes." Emily choked out._

 _"_ _Then, yes. Emily Fitch I will marry you." She smiled and Emily leaned in and kissed her._

"We're here." The cab driver announced as he pulled in to the curb.

"Thanks." She handed him the cash and got out. She headed straight upstairs.

"Emily! Ems!" She got to the bedroom door but found that it was locked. "Open the door."

"Why should I?" She said from the other side.

"Because I'm really sorry for what I said." Naomi said. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Naomi." She opened the door. "I just don't understand why you can get on that stage and talk to all those people about your personal problems but you won't tell me."

"Because I don't give a shit about what those people think! I only care about what you think."

"I think that you should let me in! Tell me what is going on with you! Be comfortable with me. Share your burden with me."

"I-I… You're right." Naomi cave in. Emily was right she wasn't being fair. She knew that she should be honest with her but she couldn't stand causing Emily more pain. "I'm sorry, Ems."

Emily just shook her head and kissed her. "You were right though," Emily started I am only after ONE thing. You." Naomi smiled and their kissing intensified. Emily took of her shirt and so did Naomi. Then Naomi started unhooking her bra.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked skeptically.

Naomi nodded. "You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with and I know I should share with you what I'm going through so…" She unhooked her bra and took out the silicone insert. Emily's jaw dropped slightly as she looked at the red scar running across Naomi's chest.

"Does it still hurt?" She whispered.

"No. It's just not very sexy, is it?" Naomi bit her lip self-consciously.

"YOU are sexy, Naoms. And it has nothing to do with your chest or bum or anything else, okay? This…" She carefully placed her finger on her scar, "This is what kept you alive. Therefore, I love it."

"I love you." Naomi said shocked at what Emily had said.

"I know." Emily smirked and continued kissing Naomi.


	5. Thomas

**A/N: I'm a little disappointed with this chapter but anyways, here it is. Next chapter will be Everyone because… (Drumroll, please) It's Emily and Naomi's wedding!**

Strobe lights. Flashing green, red, and blue lights moving to the rhythm of the music. People dancing to the beat, sweaty and hot but they never wanted to stop. The music blaring at a thunderous volume that one person could not hear the person next to them. His music. Thomas stood onstage with his laptop and DJ equipment and adjusted the sound and he moved to the music, himself. He loved the energy of this club and the people loved him too.

It was 6 in the morning when the club finally closed. Thomas was exhausted being a DJ was surprisingly tiring but every morning he went up to the roof of the building where the club was and looked at the sunrise. He loved that for a brief moment of time the oranges and yellows and pink could color the usually gray sky. In a way it gave him hope that things could be okay. Things had been difficult at home. His mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Daniel's health improved drastically since he was a child but at 20 he has gone to a University in London. Thomas was taking care of his 17 year old sister, Fumi.

He went home and slept until 3:00 pm and then he went to pick up Fumi from college. He waited in the car at the parking lot. Fumi was 20 minutes late and he was getting worried he got out of the car and walked to the front of the college. He spotted her. She was snogging some sandy haired boy. He approached them but they were too caught up in the moment. Thomas cleared his throat to effectively get their attention.

"Thomas!" Fumi looked furious.

"Fumi, are you ready to go visit Mama?" Thomas asked raising his eyebrows.

"No. Now leave." Fumi turned back to the sandy haired boy but the boy pulled away.

"You should go, "the sandy haired boy pulled back he looked at her lovingly and then turned to Thomas. "HI I'm Jonah."

"Thomas. It is nice to meet you." Thomas extended his hand and Jonah shook it.

"Go visit your mom, Fum. I'll be here tomorrow." He kissed her cheek and she smiled and nodded.

Fumi went with Thomas and got in his car.

"He seems nice, "Thomas said awkwardly as he drove.

"Yes. He is." Fumi said monotonously with her arms crossed.

"Listen, Fumi, I know it's hard to see her like this. But you know it is the right thing to do." He said after he pulled in to the parking space of the hospital.

"I just don't see the point. She doesn't even recognize us half the time, Tommo."

"I know." He said solemnly. "But she is our mother." They both got out of the car and went up to their mother's room. Their mother's nurse smiled and turned to the woman she was trying to feed.

"Look, Kasoke," the nurse said cheerfully "it's your kids!" Kasoke turned to them.

"Those are not my children." Kasoke said sternly.

"Oh, Christ. Not this again. " Fumi muttered. Thomas ignored her.

"Hi, Mama." Thomas said softly as he approached her. "It is me, Thomas."

"No you are not Thomas!" She was getting frustrated. "My Thomas was a happy boy. You are not. You are a sad, sad man."

Thomas was speechless. "Tell me, why are you sad?" Kasoke showed compassion to this "stranger".

 _It had been 3 years since he and Pandora broke up. The had lasted 4 years together for the entire duration of Panda's stay at Harvard but eventually the pressure of a long distance relationship was too much and the two broke up. Thomas in the meantime had focused on his job and taking care of his family, his mum had recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease and she was getting worse very quickly. Since learning of his mum's diagnosis Thomas could not stop thinking about Pandora. He could not stand it anymore. He NEEDED to see her and tell her how he really felt._

 _He got on the plane and arrived at Boston. He still had her address from when he used to come down and visit her. He stopped by a flower shop and bought her a bouquet of white lilies; they were Panda's favorites. He got to the apartment and knocked. The door opened and it was a tall skinny man with a plaid shirt and a bow tie. He looked like he was in his late twenties he had brown silky hair that was combed back and he had light brown eyes behind black ray ban glasses._

 _"_ _Uh-"Thomas said, "Is Pandora here?"_

 _"_ _Yeah! One second…" The guy said in an American and turned around. "Panda!"_

 _She came rushing down. "Look babe, someone brought us flowers!" He handed Thomas a five dollar bill and took the flowers. Thomas stared at the five dollar bill confused._

 _"_ _No, Dean. This is Thomas he's my friend from England." Pandora explained._

 _"_ _Oh! Right!" The man said. "Hello, I'm Dean Lockhart. I'm an archeology professor." The man outstretched his hand. Thomas took it hesitantly._

 _"_ _Thomas. It is nice to meet you." There was an awkward pause. "Alright. I should go." Thomas said and started walking away. He reached a nearby park and sat on a bench._

 _"_ _Hi." He heard Pandora's voice behind him._

 _"_ _How did you find me?" He asked._

 _"_ _We used to come here all the time when you visited. I know this is your favorite spot in all of Boston. Also, there is a donut shop a couple of meters away. Or rather I should say feet. Seriously, why hasn't America changed to the metric system, already?" She was rambling…_

 _"_ _I love you, Pandora." He said. That stopped her incoherent babble._

 _"_ _What?" She was shocked. "Thomas," she sighed, "I'm with Dean. I- I love him and stuff."_

 _Thomas nodded._

 _"_ _I'm sorry." She frowned._

 _"_ _Don't be. Does he make you happy?" He asked._

 _"_ _Yes. Very happy." She admitted._

 _"_ _Then I am very happy for you." It physically hurt to say that but it was the truth._

 _"_ _Thomas?" She asked._

 _"_ _Yes?"_

 _"_ _We can still be friends, yeah?"_

 _"_ _Of course, Panda. Always." He tried to smile._

 _"_ _C'mon." She took his hands. "Let's go get you some donuts."_

"Ah." Kasoke mused after Thomas told her what had happened. "That girl missed out on a very special man."

Thomas smiled it felt good to be complimented by his mother even if she did not know who he was.

"Do yourself a favor, boy. Forget about that girl. You deserve someone much better. You deserve to be happy."


	6. Everyone (part 1)

"Holy shit!" Was all Emily could say as she looked at the full length mirror.

"You look great, sis." Katie said as she pinned the veil on the top of Emily's intricate bun.

Emily took a deep breath and examined herself. Her strapless wedding dress hugged her chest and gracefully draped down to her ankles. Her hair was pulled back and there was a little blue flower hairpin that had belonged to her grandmother.

"I'm getting married today." She said in 'Twin' as she turned to look at Katie who looked like she was about to cry.

"I know." Katie responded in their special language. "I'll miss you."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Emily laughed.

"I know." Katie nodded but still it felt like Emily would never be just her sister anymore, she'd be Emily Campbell from now on. Emily could read right through Katie.

"I'll always be your sister." Emily threw her arms around Katie, who reciprocated the hug. Katie's phone started buzzing and Katie looked at it.

"Fuck. It's the caterers." She told Emily and picked it up. "Hello? What the fuck do you mean that the chocolate fountain is broken? Fine. I'll be there in a moment." Katie scoffed and left Emily alone in the room they had shared their entire life. Their wedding was going to be in the backyard of Emily's house.

Emily heard a soft knock. "Yeah?" She called out.

"Hi." Said a soft voice behind the door. It was Naomi. Emily got closer to the door and twisted the knob to let her in.

"Don't." Naomi stopped her. "We're not supposed to see each other. Mum said it's like tradition or something."

"Right." Emily said quietly. Before Emily could ask Naomi said, "I just- I needed to hear your voice."

"Yeah. Me too." Emily confessed. She sat down in front of the door.

"You know, we could make a run for it. Get eloped in Morocco or even Vegas." Naomi was only half joking.

Emily laughed. "I think if I did that Katie would chop both our heads off the next time she saw us." Naomi laughed behind the door.

Emily couldn't take it anymore she cracked the door and stuck out just her hand. Naomi saw it and automatically took it and wrapped her fingers around Emily's. Emily grinned widely.

"Well this feels rather familiar." Naomi said. Emily chuckled nostalgically. "It definitely does." She remembered the night Naomi came to her house and told her she wanted her.

"I love you, Ems." Naomi spoke up, "I just want to get over this whole wedding madness so it can be just us again."

"Me too." Emily agreed. Emily heard footsteps. "Oh. Hi, Naomi!" It was JJ's voice he sounded surprised to see Naomi sitting in front of the door holding Emily's hand. "Hi, JJ." Naomi replied.

"I just wanted to congratulate Emily." He said.

"Right. Well, I suppose I should have Effy finish off my makeup." Nomi kissed Emily's hand. "I'll see you at the altar, love."

"I'll be the one in white." Emily joked.

"No fucking way! Me too!" Naomi said with mock enthusiasm and left. JJ opened the door and Emily threw his arms around him.

"Wow! Emily you look- wow!"

"Thank you, Best Man. You don't look half bad yourself." Emily replied. It was true. JJ had certainly grown up. His hair was no longer a wavy mess but rather a styled, sophisticated cut thanks to his wife, Lara. He was also still thin, but no longer lanky and his black suit hugged his toned arms.

"So, are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes. I have been for a long time." She smiled.

Naomi was thankful for her mother's tight grip as she started to walk down the aisle when the music started playing. She had looked up and saw Emily in her dress and went weak on her knees. She and Gina continued walking down the aisle. Emily smiled radiantly at her. Next to her were JJ and Katie, her best man and maid of honor and on the other side of them was Effy smiling her Effy smile. She reached the end of the aisle and took Emily's hand. Gina kissed Naomi's cheek and winked playfully at Kieran who was at the altar because Naomi had asked him to officiate the wedding. Turned out the old Irishman was ordained.

"You look so beautiful." Emily whispered as she leaned in.

"Y-you too." Naomi was speechless. Emily was a vision. Naomi looked all around her. The huge backyard of Emily's parents' house had been completely transformed. Katie has set up a dancefloor and the entire venue was decorated with white lilies anew of which Naomi was wearing on her hair. She had opted not to have a veil and wore a simple lace wedding dress.

"Today is a celebration." Kieran began the ceremony. "A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever. But, if you really think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right? The two of ya standing on a stage, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone who has meant anything to you in the past twenty-something years. So why do it?"

Naomi looked at her stepfather in disbelief. He _better_ not ruin this.

Kieran continued, "Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. Or whatever. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here." He looked up to the crowd. "Now, the brides wrote their own vows." Kieran nodded at Emily to begin. Emily took a shaky breath.

"Naomi, being with you has taught me so many things. You have taught me that love isn't happily ever after, love is the experience of writing your story. It's not one moment — not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like when I told you I wanted you by the lake, moving in together, going to Goa, getting engaged in Mexico, the cancer-" Emily paused briefly to regain her emotions. "— but mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Like when we danced with mustaches to Mexican music or when you wrap your arms around me on my moped, falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with our families, binge-watching Orange is the New Black, getting to kiss you every morning… These everyday moments fuse together into one big adventure. You make my life so wonderful, Naoms. I love you." Emily's voice cracked.

Kieran smiled. "Naomi?"

"Crap." Naomi wiped her face and sniffled. "Told myself I wouldn't cry." Everyone laughed, including Emily.

"Emily. I've always thought I was pretty good with words. I'm a comedian for god's sake! But at this very moment words fail. How do you just tell someone who you've been in love with for thirteen years? Those words don't exist. That's just the way it is with love — it's meant to be felt, not described. So instead I am going to tell a story. Most of you don't know this but nearly nine years ago Emily and I went to a lake and spent the night there and it was terrifying. It was terrifying because for the first time in my life someone could actually break my heart, so I left." She turned to look at Emily. "That day you asked me to be brave and want you back. And me being the twat that I was pretended not to hear. But here I am… being brave and wanting you more than ever because that's what you do, Ems. You make me braver and kinder and more honest. You make me want to be a better person. I love you with all my heart."

Emily shook her head and kissed her.

"Wait! Not yet!" Kieran said playfully. "That part comes afterwards!"

"Ok. Since these two can't keep their hands off each other, I'll make this quick. Do you, Emily, take Naomi to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you apart?"

"I do."

"And do you, Naomi, take Emily to be your wife, to have and to hold. Blah, blah, blah. You get the point!"

"I do." Naomi smiled.

Kieran sighed and smiled. "Okay. NOW you may kiss the bride."

Anomaly took Emily's face gently in her hands and kissed her passionately as their guests cheered.

"I'm fucking married. Me. Naomi Campbell. Married. Can you fucking believe it?" Naomi continued to be in shock as she and Effy sat on a table and sipped champagne.

"Yep. You're married." Effy said as she took another sip of champagne.

"I mean look at her. Isn't she the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?" Effy looked up to see Emily happily dancing with JJ.

"Yeah." Effy wasn't exactly preoccupied with what Naomi was saying she was busy looking at the dancefloor looking for someone…

"He said he was coming." Naomi said knowingly. Effy nodded. "So what's been going on between you two? You've been spending a lot of time together, yeah?"

"I'm just helping him with his pub. The management part."

"Really? Well, are you helping him with something else too? Naomi make a sexual face and made a loose fist while moving it up and down, mimicking the masturbation motion.

"What the fuck? No! We're just friends!" Effy got defensive. "He's got a kid!"

"I have seen you with that kid and I can tell you love that kid. Just like you love that man." Naomi said with a knowing face.

Effy looked out onto the dancefloor again and saw Panda and her boyfriend, Dean, doing the robot. "Pandora's new beau seems nice."

Naomi snorted. "He's just a male version of her. And don't change the subject!"

Emily excitedly ran to Naomi and took her hand. "Dance with me, wife!" She pulled Naomi out of her chair and dragged her to the dancefloor but not before Naomi turned to Effy and said, "Looks like your "friend" is here."

She was right. Effy looked out and saw Cook in a Gray suit and black shirt. He seemed strangely out of place. Which was odd because James Cook was never out of place when there was a party involved.

Katie was walking furiously towards the caterers with full intent to scream at them for not heating the mini quiches properly but as she was speed walking a waiter with a tray of red wine bumped into her effusively spilling all of the wine on Katie's dress.

"Ahh! Look what you have done, you stupid twat!" Katie scolded the waiter with a terrified look in his face.

"I am so sorry, miss." He stuttered nervously. He grabbed a napkin and started wiping down the huge stain in her dress.

"Don't touch me! God, you're such a fucking moron!" She cried out angrily the waiter just looked at her apologetically.

"Just go away!" She screamed and the waiter nodded and scurried away quickly. Katie looked down and inspected the stain, "How am gonna get rid of this?" She asked herself.

"Try vinegar." Someone said behind her she turned around. It was Thomas. "And soap." He smiled.

She smiled back. "Yeah. Okay." She nodded she started walking back to the house and Thomas followed her. "I can help." He offered.

"Sure." She went inside the house. "I'm just gonna change out of the dress. I'll be back in a second." She walked to her room and opened in and found her 17 year old brother, James, and his friend, Gordon, trying on some of her dresses.

"I can explain!" James said, clearly alarmed.

"I don't even want to know." Katie shook her head and grabbed a shirt and some shorts to wear while she cleaned her dress and quickly headed out of her room but stopped right as she was about to exit.

"By the way, James, that dress makes your bum look fat." She exited the room and changed in the bathroom and rushed downstairs to the kitchen where Thomas was already waiting with a bottle of vinegar and soapy water. He took the dress out of her hands and expertly started removing the stain.

"There." He said contently as he held up the spotless dress. "You will have to wait for it to dry but it should be good." He handed her the dress and their fingertips brushed briefly.

"Thank you so much." She looked at him gratefully.

"My pleasure." He bowed his head and started heading out.

"Wait, Thomas." She called out. "How's your mum? I heard she wasn't doing too well."

"She has good days and bad days." It was clear that was all Thomas would say about it. "It's a beautiful wedding. Everyone is having a good time. You did a wonderful job."

"Thank you. I should be heading back I needed to talk to the chef about the quiches. But now here I am with a mess with no dress and sticky with wine."

"The quiches are delicious." He came closer to her, "And you are no mess. You are beautiful, Katie Fitch."

She couldn't stop herself. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Their kissing intensified as she started guiding him up the stairs. She had been so caught up in the moment that she nearly forgot that James and his friend were in her room. He tried to open the door but she stopped him.

"Wait. Not in there… My brother is err… Changing in there." She instead guided him to the guest bedroom and she looked the door. She took off his suit jacket and started loosening his tie as he continued kissing her. He then helped her pull of her t-shit and soon enough they were completely naked. They were on the bed and he was on top of her. He looked into her eye warmly and smiled.

"I have wanted this for a long time." He whispered.

"Me too." She replied and resumes kissing him.

Effy was walking towards Cook.

"Hey, you." She said quietly but he heard her and turned around and did a double take when he looked at her. She looked elegant, yet cute, but also extremely sexy in a way that only Effy could manage. Cook continued to gawk at her and she knew it. "Stop looking like a twat and ask me to dance." She commanded. He quickly regained composure and nodded. Taking her by the hand and guiding her to the dancefloor.

She put her hand on his shoulders and he put them around her waist and they swayed slightly awkwardly to the music.

"How is Sophie?" Effy asked after a few minutes of wordless dancing.

"She's great. Really getting the hang of walking. She's getting everywhere now. I hope the sitter can manage her."

After two months of being with Cook and occasionally seeing Sophie Effy had gotten strangely attached to the little tyke. Cook's phone started vibrating in his pocket.

"Speak of the devil." He said before answering. "Hi, Lindsay! Is Sophie okay? "He answered and listened to rhea other end. "A fever?" He asked. "Yes. I'll be right over with the meds." He hung up.  
"I have to go. Sophie has a fever."  
"Wait." Effy called out. "I'll come with you I want to make sure she's okay."  
"Aren't you like the maid of honor or something?" He asked.  
Effy looked behind her and saw Emily and Naomi kissing while they danced.  
"I think they'll be fine." She shrugged and Cook motioned for her to follow him. She followed him to his car and they stopped at the pharmacy to get medicine and then they finally got to the apartment. They were immediately greeted by Sophie's cries. The came out carrying the crying infant.

"S' ok love, Daddy is here." He reached out to get the medicine but his hands were too busy carrying Sophie.

"Here." Effy outstretched her arms and took cook's daughter and started making soothing circles on the infant's back. Surprisingly, Sophie started to calm down and cook was able to give her the medicine without too much of a fuss. Effy continued to rock Sophie in her arms. Cook had offered to take her but Effy refused. It was hard to admit but she loved holding Sophie. It was her smell, her silky golden curls, her stormy gray eyes. There was something about it that made it seem almost like Effy was meant to hold her and the way that cook looked at her while she held her made her feel a wave of warmth inside of her.

Effy looked down at the toddler. "She's asleep." She whisper. Cook nodded and took his daughter from Effie's arms and gently put her in her cot while Effy watched. She had never seen anyone be so gentle and tender with anything in her entire life. They both exited the room and cook closed the door to Sophie's room.

"Thanks for that." he said quietly. When he said those words every bit of restraint that Effy had built up just crumbled away. She moved closed to him and took his head in her hands and pressed her lips to his. He was startled but then he sated moving his lips too and but his hands on the back of her neck the way he knew she liked. He guided her to the bedroom. She fell on the bed and started undoing the buttons of his shirt and he went to unzip her dress but pulled back suddenly.

"Stop." He said stoically.

"Why?" Effy was so confused.

"We can't do this." He started buttoning up his shirt. "You- you should go."

"Okay. I'll leave." She wasn't giving in to this. "Just as soon as you give me one good reason why I should."

"I- I can't say. Just know that you are better off without me."

"What the fuck makes you think that?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm no good. You deserve better." He was trying to push her away and she knew it.

"Is this because of the whole John Foster thing?" She asked quietly.

"Yes. No… I don't know." He sighed and rested his face on his hands. "I'm not a good person, Eff. Freddy… Emma...They were both killed, I couldn't stop it. I don't want to say that about you. "

"It won't happen. Nothing's gonna happen to me. Because you will protect me. You always have and always will." She tried to reassure him. She wrapped her arm around him and kissed his cheek softly and then down his neck and started to slowly undo the buttons of his shirt. He started kissing back.

"I'm tellin' ya!" Kieran's loud drunken voice boomed, "If Naomi is half as good in the sac as her mother, the rest of her marriage should be smooth sailin'!"

"Oh, god!" Naomi covered her face as she was slow dancing with Emily. She was certain all of their guests had heard that. Emily just laughed and looked very amused. "I don't even know who he's talking to!"

"That would be my boss." Emily chuckled.

"Oh my god!" Naomi started pulling away, "I'll get him before he gets you fired."

Emily pulled Naomi back to her. "It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I was fired." She muttered.

"What do you mean? Naomi looked genuinely confused. "You don't like it anymore?"

"No. It's not that. I love being a graphic designer. I've just been thinking about taking some time off."

"Why?" Naomi asked.

"It doesn't matter. We don't have to talk about this right now."

"Emily, yes we do. What's going on?"

"I just... We should..." Emily struggled with her words and sighed. "I want to have a baby."

Naomi nodded silently, "Oh."

"I mean like not now-or maybe now. I don't know. It could be in ages. It doesn't have to be now. I mean were young, but not that young..."

"Emily." Naomi stopped the ramble. "I want to have a baby with you."

"Wait. You do?" Emily looked confused now.

"Yeah. To be honest I hadn't thought loads about it but yes. I want a family too. Maybe after we get back form the honeymoon we can start talking about it. Maybe see some doctors."

"Ok. Yeah. Brilliant." Emily was speechless. "Speaking of the honeymoon, I got some oils...and stuff.

"Oils, eh?" Naomi smile.

"Yes. Ooooiiillllss. And stuff." Emily looked at her suggestively. They both laughed at their inside joke and contused dancing.


	7. Emily

_It was a Tuesday evening 6 months after the wedding. Just a normal Tuesday. Naomi went to work at some unholy hour in the morning to go do her morning talk show and Emily went to work and when she came back they had dinner together as usual and now they were just watching television. Well, Emily was. Nomi's mind had not stopped wondering for 5 weeks. Five weeks ago they had visited the doctor's and Emily got_ inseminated _. Naomi shudder at the word. They had chosen a donor together. He was a 26 year old architect with a wide smile, green eyes, and sandy blonde hair. Naomi's mind continued to wonder but then she felt Emily turning to her. Naomi smiled as she looked at her wife. Emily smiled sweetly._

 _"Could you make me some tea?" Emily asked._

 _Naomi mock groaned, "Ughh. But I am so comfortable."_

 _"Pleeeaaassssee." Emily begged._

 _Naomi chuckeled and stood up and went to the kitchen and reached for the tin box in the cupboard. She opened the box. They weren't any tea bags. Instead there was a white plastic stick with a little pink positive sign. Naomi took the pregnancy test and held it up her hand was shaking._

 _"Is my tea done yet?" Emily was leaning on the doorpost with a huge smile on her face._

 _"It worked? You're pregnant?" Naomi asked holding up the stick. Emily nodded her head rapidly and laughed._

 _"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" Naomi rushed to Emily and wrapped her arms around her and kissed her passionately. Name took put her hands to Emily's face. "I'm so happy." She whispered. Emily had never felt this happy before._

Emily tried to remember that day as he knelt in front of the toilet retching her guts out. This was the third day in a row of morning sickness. She packed into the bowl one more time she froze slightly as she felt a hand on her back. She knew it was not Naomi's hand. This hand was slender and light and the pats were unsure rather than soothing. Also it was not Naomi because it was 7 in the morning and Naomi was doing her talk show. It was Effie. Emily knew it even before she looked up and made eye contact with Effie she also saw that Effy had brought a cup of water for with her. She was about to thank her when she felt sick again and continued to empty out her stomach.

"Well," Effy said, "I've had many reactions to people seeing me, but puking had never been one."

"Yeah? I suppose it's an unwelcome change from the gawking and wolf whistling." Emily replied sardonically as she pulled her head out of the toilet and landed against the cool bathroom wall.

Effy didn't reply. Instead she offered Emily the glass of water. Emily took it gratefully. "Naomi called. Told me to check on you. She's worried."

"Yeah? Well, tell her I'm fine." Emily replied monotonously. "I'm sorry, "Emily sighed, realizing that she had no reason to be rude to Effy. "You're just doing what Naomi asked."

"So… Uh… What's it like? You know being knocked up or whatever." Effy was trying to make conversation.

"It's sort of like a hangover that doesn't go away. The shit part is that you don't actually get to drink."

Effy chuckled. "Why?" Emily raised her eyebrows. "Are you thinking of having one? With Cook?"

"WHAT?" Effy said in shock. "No. No way. "Effy sighed "I was just thinking that it's so obvious that you two are already so in love with this kid. How could someone just abandon their kid? Someone as special as Sophie?"

"We don't know what was going on in that woman's life that made her so desperate to give Sophie away."  
Effy nodded silently. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you and Cook but I know that whatever is going on it makes you happy. And I know that you make Cook and that little girl very happy."

"Wow." Effy laughed. "Emily cares about my happiness? Are you feeling ok?" Effy jokingly put her hand on Emily's forehead as to check for a fever. "Has motherhood made you soft?"

"No." Emily replied. "Having Naomi by my side everyday has."

Effy nodded again. She stood up from the bathroom floor me offer a hand to Emily who was still leaning next to the toilet, holding the glass of water. "C'mon, Prager's. I'll make you some toast."  
Emily nodded and allowed her friend to help her up.

"Goodbye, Meredith." Emily frowned down. "You were such a good friend. I'll miss you so much."

"Emily." Naomi said in an exasperated tone. "Today would be nice, love."

"You can't rush this! Meredith is my friend. "She shouted back at Naomi who was outside the garage." Anyways, Mer, you gonna go to a different girl now. She's very nice." Emily looked down at her moped and touched the leather seat gently.

"Emily, Lauren is here to pick of the moped." Naomi called out. Lauren was a 17 year old intern at Naomi's radio station. Emily looked down at the moped and brought it out of the garage. She spotted Naomi talking to Lauren.

"Here it is." Naomi said pointing to the moped. "Pristine condition...Sorta."

"Yeah the leather is a bit worn and you have to jiggle the key a bit to get it in there." Emily said.

"It's so beautiful!" Lauren gushed. "Why would you get rid of it?" She was still excited.

"I suppose I've outgrown her a bit." Emily said quietly while subconsciously placing her hand in the barely noticeable baby bump.

"Her?" Lauren asked.

"Yes. Her." Emily laughed. "Her name is Meredith."

"Meredith." Lauren smiled. "It suits her."

"Well, kid, have you got your license?" Naomi asked.

"Yes."

"Helmet?"

"Crap. No. I forgot it."

"Here." Emily went to go get her helmet. And saw that the googles Naomi gave her so many years ago were sit on it. She quickly pulled them off. "You can use mine." she offered the helmet to the girl who took it gratefully.

"Thank you both so much!" Lauren said. "How can I ever repay you guys?"

"Well, do you like kids?" Naomi asked.

"Yes! I love them."  
"Well, maybe you could babysit for us in the future."

"I'd love that." Emily gave Lauren the keys and Lauren drove off.

"I'm proud of you." Naomi turned to Emily. "I know that must have been hard."

"It was at first." Emily admitted. "It felt like it was such a big part our relationship, growing up. But then I realized that we have grown up together and the moped is part of our past but this baby is our future."

"God, I love you!" Naomi pulled her wife closer and kissed her.

"Plus," Emily added, "I kept the googles I figured we could keep 'em and put it in the nursery."

"Oh my god! I forgot I got you those! Try them on!" Emily did. Naomi looked at her lovingly. Emily had changed throughout the years her hair wasn't a fiery red but a rich brown and her face had transitioned amazingly from teenager to adult but looking at her now smiling with the goofy googles they both thought of the past and all they went through together.

Later that evening the gang had decided to meet up at Cook's pub just as a gathering. Emily was telling about how she had given away her moped but when she finished the story she had absolutely no responses, just blank stares from each of her friends.

"What the hell is going on with you people? Why haven't you said anything?"

"Well," Cook started, "I would say something but I don't know how to phrase it in the _breast_ way."  
Everyone at the table chuckled, including Naomi.

"What? I don't get it. What's so funny?"

"Fuck it, I'll say it." Cook said, "Emilio, darling, your tits are fucking massive."  
Emily's face flushed to a crimson that no one had ever seen before.

"Effy! Aren't you gonna say something to your boyfriend?" Emily expected Effy to reprimand Cook.

"How can I? When I kind of want to bury my face in them, myself." Effy said without looking away from Emily's chest. "Sorry, Naoms."

"S'ok." Naomi laughed. "I don't blame you."

"Okay. Let's be honest here who else hasn't been able to look at anything but Emily's rack the entire night?" Cook asked. Immediately Naomi's hand flew straight to the air followed by Cook and Effy. JJ and Lara shrugged and put their hands up together, even Katie and Thomas had raised their hands even though Thomas looked incredibly embarrassed.

"Katie? You too?" Emily asked shocked.

"Can you blame me? Emsie! They're practically popping out of your shirt? Like, did you _really_ have to wear a V-neck?"

"It's the only thing that fits..." Emily said almost inaudibly.

Thomas looked desperate to change the topic. "How about a toast?" He raised his beer. "To Emily and Naomi's impending motherhood."

"Yeah but mostly to Naomi..." Effy added, "who is the only lucky bitch that gets to handle that glorious rack." Effy joked and Emily and everyone laughed. Emily knew her friends were only teasing lightheartedly.

"To Emily and Naomi!" Everyone cheered!


End file.
